Neil Benson’s Unholy Embrace

Years ago, Night to Dawn published Neil Benson’s Unholy Embrace, a vampire romance which garnered many 5-star reviews. A different company has given new life to Unholy Embrace, and the second edition is now available.

Blurb:

Frank Thornton’s night of passion with the
vampire Nessa Harcanu ignites the love that binds them to each other. He learns
of the great power she gained from her 500-year fight for survival. Their
commitment to each other forces Frank to enter a dark world he never imagined.
Together, they battle werewolves, vampires, and other creatures of the night,
leading to a confrontation with an immortal, seemingly invincible demon. They
must use all their strength and wit to survive the greatest battle of their lives.

Excerpt:

On a
crisp April night, Nessa and I held hands as we walked to Broadway on a narrow
side street from a theater on the Upper West Side. Without warning, she pushed
me aside and turned toward the alleyway on our left. A dark, hairy form raced
at her, emitting a growl that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Nessa
ducked, put her hands under its body, and flipped her attacker through the air
into a light blue delivery truck. A second dark-haired creature emerged from
the same alley, snarling and displaying three-inch-long incisors glistening
with saliva. When the second beast tried to bite Nessa, she grabbed the
creature’s throat and snapped its head backward. She sank her fangs into its
neck and ripped the carotid artery. I gagged at the sight of the blood spurting
from the gaping wound.

The
first beast rose and was about to charge Nessa when I raced forward to tackle
it.

“No!” Nessa yelled, and she put herself between the beast
and me. The creature swiped a hairy paw at her head, but she ducked and stepped
behind her lethal adversary. The creature tried to turn, but she grabbed its
throat and raised the beast two feet into the air. She squeezed its neck until
the sounds of bones cracking made me cringe. She let go, and the creature fell
to the ground. Nessa closed her eyes and sniffed the air.

“I
don’t smell or hear anything for a quarter of a mile,” she replied. “How do you
feel after surviving your first attack by werewolves?”

Nessa
inspected the creatures she had killed with such little effort.

“Terrified
but happy to be alive.” I stood by her side at the nearest werewolf and
examined its paws. Three-inch claws tapering from one inch around at the base
to razor-sharp tips made lethal weapons.

“That’s
why I screamed at you. I admire your courage, but the creature would have
eviscerated you in one swift stroke.”

“I
know you’ve told me about the damage werewolves can inflict, but hearing about
them isn’t the same as watching them in action.” I shivered at the thought of
how easily either of them could have killed me.

She
stared at me. “Frank, are you OK?”

“I
think so.” My pulse had slowed down, and my lungs no longer screamed for air. I
glanced upward at the night sky. “No full moon?”

“They
can inject themselves with a serum that enables them to become a werewolf
whenever they choose.”
The
werewolves terrified me, but the creature Nessa became frightened me almost as
much. I stepped back and watched her fangs disappear, and her eyes return to
normal.